The Boiler Shop Steamer, November
The first Friday and Saturday of November saw us returning to The Boiler Shop Steamer to cover the pop-up wine bar for the second time this year.
The event got off to a good start on the Friday evening with Simon Taylor & The Sundowners, followed by Monkey Junk, Blank Maps, Hot Bullets of Shotgun and bringing the evening to a climax was the headlining band The Din.
The venue soon filled up with a mix of people finishing work and folk coming out in their various Halloween guises.
Again, there was a good, varied selection of street food available, of which we sampled the Fat Friars ‘Veggie Shite’ wrap (their name not ours, honestly), Heavenly Manna Jamaican mixed veg with rice and peas and the best cappuccino ever from James at Ouseburn Coffee Co. All very tasty indeed! Amazing rainbow cake courtesy of Teasy Does it, wow!
Folk could also choose from local ales courtesy of Wylam Brewery as well as going for The Cumberland Arms cocktails, coffee martinis at Ouseburn Coffee Co. and of course a fine selection of wines from yours truly.
Unfortunately, the rain came on the Saturday but it didn’t discourage those determined to have a good time. The beginning of the afternoon was more family orientated with children enjoying a dance to the music of Nev Clay, Cath & Phil Tyler and The Amazing Ray Stubbs.
Whilst DJ Lee Baby Sims kept the tunes going from his fine selection of vinyl in between the live acts.
If that wasn’t enough, local magician Chris-Cross entertained the growing crowd with one or two ice-breaking card tricks. He certainly helped warm up the chilly November afternoon air.
And for those fancying a shave or haircut, Dave and Bob from George Scott’s Gentlemen’s Hairdresser were on hand with their very own pop-up Barber Shop to give the full treatment … for free!
Saturday’s delicious delights to keep our energies up were supplied by Settledown Cafe’s blue cheese & mushroom pizza, Lulu Cooks Chinese dumplings and The Fat Hippo‘s Cajun fries.
The evening soon became more up tempo as Saturday night revellers arrived and was kickstarted into action with Ojay‘s ‘basse-space funk’.
Later on, Big Ray and The Hipthrusters really got the crowd steaming with their foot stomping rhythm and blues.
Here’s to another successful Boiler Shop Steamer and we hope to see you at the Funk and Soul Christmas Special on Friday 20 December where you can catch Craig Charles headlining.
Keep an eye out for us at future events …
The Boiler Shop Steamer
Situated in Newcastle upon Tyne close to Central Station and near to the River Tyne is the historic Stephenson Works, the world’s first purpose built locomotive works, famous for the construction of such iconic locomotives as ‘Locomotion’ and ‘The Rocket’.
Derelict for many years until present custodians, The Robert Stephenson Trust along with friends of the Trust, have restored the building to something of its former glory, it is now available for hire as an event space.
On the first Friday and Saturday of each month ‘The Boiler Shop Steamer‘ rolls into town. Brainchild of Riley’s Fish Shack and Wylam Brewery, the event takes over the works and has become a popular place to be seen, welcoming thousands through its doors each month. Fellow ‘Steamers‘ can sample the many different types of food on offer, washed down with either a glass of wine, local ale or cocktail, whilst an impressive line up of live musical acts keeps everyone fully entertained, such as DJ FLint & Steel, Love & Lies, Alex Butler and Symphonic Pictures! who played at this month’s event.
We were fortunate enough to lend a hand on the wine bar last weekend and hope to do so again in the future, so watch this space …
The Garage Live – (English) Seaside Special 2013
It’s not all wine with us, we enjoy one or two other interests, though we must say that these often include wine as well!
However on this occasion, not a drop was drunk as we set off for South Shields Amphitheatre on the sea front for musical entertainment courtesy of local talent via The Garage Live – a local TV show that can be found on YouTube, showcasing local artists – do check it out.
The weather was a let down or should we correctly say, English. That is, cold and raining on a 2nd of July evening. Still, this did not dampen anyones spirits.
We managed to catch 4 out of the 5 acts that were billed. These being:
Guest Wines Blog 